Guillen in trouble with Miamians after all-time idiotic comments

April 8, 2012 6:55 PM ET

This isn't Guillen's first brush with controversy. (Getty Images)

MIAMI -- In the past, new Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen mostly just annoyed opponents and occasionally his bosses with his well-known motormouth. But this time, he has found himself real trouble. Guillen, who should know better -- no, who has to know better -- was quoted in a Time magazine article due out soon saying nice things about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Guillen actually uses the words "love'' and "respect'' regarding Castro, though he did call Castro an "expletive." So far the "expletive'' comment isn't mitigating the idiocy involved in the other words here, nor should it.

You can say just about anything in Miami, but not that. And Guillen, a longtime resident of Miami, has to know that Castro is the biggest villain to a large percentage of Miamians. So not only was Guillen dead wrong about what he said -- Castro is a well-known monster to be neither loved nor respected -- but it's just plain idiotic to praise him.

The Marlins issued this statement: "We are aware of the article. There is nothing to respect about Fidel Castro. He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than fifty years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today."

The Marlins say they do not plan to discipline Guillen. This country was built on free speech, so a case could be made that he shouldn't be punished. But perhaps he does need to be fitted for a muzzle (or at least told to keep his comments to DP combos and the like for the time being).

Miamians are not taking it well. There may be a boycott, which is the last thing Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria needs at his new stadium. Loria spent nearly $200 million on new free agents and another $10 million on Guillen, filling their beautiful new ballpark with exciting figures. Guillen was supposed to be a lure. At the moment, he is a distraction. Guillen apologized, but not everyone is satisfied.

Judge for youself. Here is the Guillen quote that made its way to the Internet: "I love Fidel Castro ... I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last sixty years but that [expletive] is still there.''

The one thing Guillen got right is this: Castro is an "expletive." Other than that, this is the dumbest paragraph uttered by a major-league manager in the history of paragraphs and managers.

How does one say he "loves" Castro? It's unfathomable. Castro has presided over executions, has kept political prisoners, and he's forced tens of thousands to flee their families and homeland. If anyone should know this, it's a baseball figure. If anyone else should know this, it's a Miamian. Guillen is both.